Griswold roof repair fast-tracked
BERLIN — The aging, leaky roof at Griswold Elementary School will be replaced.
With the project becoming more urgent due to changes in both the approval process and state reimbursement, the $1.5 million expenditure was unanimously approved by the Town Council.
Public Works Director Art Simonian said approval of the project locked in state reimbursement at 47 percent.
“Delays in construction can escalate costs and possibly result in a change in reimbursement from the state,” he said.
Work is scheduled to begin in the summer.
The council had to waive Rule 7, giving it the ability to take action immediately following a public hearing, in order to swiftly move the project along. Councilor David Evans said he is never in favor of waiving the rule, as it takes away the public’s ability to weigh in on the matter.
“Although I think this needs to go forward, I am not in favor of waiving Rule 7,” he said.
Griswold’s two roofs — one over the original building and another connecting it to the addition — are each approaching three decades old. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Wyman, officials urge caution during road repairs
NEWINGTON — With more than 10,700 crashes in Connecticut work zones in the past 10 years — or almost three per day — state officials are renewing efforts to combat the problem.
With Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman in town to highlight the concern, the message was clear Tuesday morning at the Department of Transportation headquarters: Slow down for work zones.
With winter having subsided, DOT Commissioner James Redeker said, construction and road repair season has begun, and the safety of work crews should be a concern for anyone who gets behind the wheel.
“April 1 is the traditional start for construction season. That means that our crews and our contractor crews will be out on the road,” Redeker said. “Make no doubt about it, work zones are — not just can be — but are dangerous places. Living and working them each and every day is a hazard. Protect them, respect them.”
Several state, local and law enforcement officials echoed Redeker’s sentiment.
Wyman said just the other day she had attended a wake for a member of the public works department in her town who was killed while on the job.
“This is very, very serious — it really is,” Wyman said. “We talk about obeying the orange [that marks and warns of work zones] and making sure we slow down. We want to make sure we’re careful. Work zones have to be safety zones.”
This week has been dubbed Work Zone Awareness Week. The national and state campaigns are designed to raise awareness and educate the public about the dangers of work zones in an effort to keep both workers and motorists safe while on the road.
The campaign, which is in its 15th year, has proven itself effective. Amy Jackson-Grove of the Federal Highway Administration said there has been a 47 percent reduction in work zone fatalities since 2003. However, according to information supplied by the DOT, 20,000 workers nationally are injured in road construction work zones each year, with nearly half the fatalities the result of the worker being run over or backed over by a vehicle or mobile equipment. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
States pull back on transportation improvements over uncertain federal highway trust fund money
Four states have canceled or delayed $780 million in transportation improvement projects and another nine say over $1.8 billion are at risk because of continued uncertainty over whether Congress will take action soon to fix the ailing Highway Trust Fund (HTF).
The Washington, D.C.-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) reviewed news reports, public statements and testimony from state officials to compile the list featured in a March 24 report.
On average, the HTF is the source of 52 percent of all highway and bridge capital investments made annually by state governments. Funding for the federal highway and transit program expires on May 31 unless Congress acts. The HTF has suffered five revenue shortfalls between 2008 and 2014, and the next cash crisis is expected to occur in summer 2015.
So far in 2015, four states—Ark., Ga., Tenn. and Wyo.—have shelved $779.7 million in projects due to the uncertainty over federal funds.
Nine states—Colo., Conn., Miss., Mont., Neb., Nev., Pa., Vt., and W.Va.—have expressed concern over the feasibility of future transportation infrastructure projects totaling more than $1.8 billion if Congress does not act before May 31. ARTBA expects more states will make similar announcements as the deadline draws nearer.
Last year, before a last-ditch effort by members of Congress led to an extension of MAP-21, DOT officials in 35 states publicly stated that they would be impacted by the precarious HTF situation.
“It’s déjà vu all over again as Yogi Berra would say,” according to ARTBA President & CEO Pete Ruane. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
MGM breaks ground on $800M casino in western Mass
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - With confetti and fanfare, MGM officially broke ground Tuesday on an $800 million casino in western Massachusetts that represents the largest economic development project the region has seen in generations.
Hundreds attended the ceremony held on a cold but sunny day in front of an old school the casino plans to raze to make way for a parking lot. The groundbreaking was largely symbolic: Casino officials say there's more to be done before construction can start in earnest. But the event marks a significant development in New England's ever-escalating casino race. MGM seeks to become Massachusetts' first resort casino as rivals in Connecticut and the Boston area are also trying to open casinos. "We're No. 1 one in Vegas, and we'll be No. 1 in New England, regardless of what Connecticut does," CEO Jim Murren declared. Here's what you need to know about the project, which officials hope to open in 2017:
THE CASINO PLAN MGM's casino is being developed on 14.5 acres in the downtown and South End neighborhoods, an area still recovering from a devastating 2011 tornado. The casino will have 3,000 slot machines, 75 gambling tables and a 250-room hotel. It will also include shops, restaurants, meeting and office space, and residential apartments. The project has been billed as a unique, urban-centered casino that will restore or reuse all or parts of a number of historic buildings, including a castle-like armory. It will also preserve Main Street's traditional storefront row and offer new downtown amenities like a public plaza, ice skating rink, cinema and bowling alley. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Widening of I-84 to begin on Monday
WATERBURY — After years of delays, the long-awaited widening of Interstate 84 between Washington Avenue and Pierpont Road is so close, the smell of bituminous concrete is practically in the air. Reconstruction of the 2.7-mile stretch of highway, which Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has called one of the most infamous bottlenecks in the state, will begin Monday.
The state Department of Transportation's contract with I-84 Constructors, a joint venture between North Haven-based Empire Paving and Yonkers Contracting in New York, requires the project to be complete by June 25, 2020, with incentives for the contractor to finish by August 2019.
The project budget, including construction and utility work, is $298 million. The DOT is paying $145 million toward the project; the rest will be funded by the Federal Highway Administration.
State and officials held a public information session at Crosby High School on Tuesday where they presented a project overview and a preliminary construction schedule to a crowd of more than 100.
Speakers seemed to agree that I-84 needs to be widened and reconfigured, but many said they fear traffic delays will become far worse before they improve.
"It's going to be bad, I mean seriously it's going to be bad, especially during the first couple of weeks as people get used to it," said Kenneth Fargnoli, district engineer for the DOT.
The project involves widening the highway from two lanes to three in each direction, eliminating an S-curve near Harpers Ferry Road, reconfiguring exits, adding 12-foot-wide shoulders and building an access road, called Plank Road East, between Scott Road and Harpers Ferry Road.
The work entails replacing nine bridges, six culverts and 20 retaining walls. The Mad River and Beaver Brook Pond Brook also need to be realigned.
On March 30, motorists won't notice much of a change on I-84. They may see construction crews staging equipment, installing signs and moving dirt, Fargnoli said.
By mid-April, crews will be working at night to widen the shoulders closest to the median. The shoulders will be turned into full-fledged travel lanes, allowing crews to extend the highway outward.
By the end of spring, the first major change will go into effect — the Exit 24 westbound off-ramp that leads to Harpers Ferry Road will be closed permanently to make room for Plank Road East. Also, closing the exit ramp will eliminate a "weave" section of the highway where traffic uses the same lane to enter and exit the highway.
During construction, four detours will be implemented. The DOT says it will make every effort to ensure traffic moves as smoothly as possible. It has installed signs that will tell motorists how long it will take to get through the construction zone. Live travel times will also be available at www. ct.gov/dot.
During peak hours, the DOT says there will be two travel lanes in each direction. At night there will be intermittent lane closures.
For information and to register for project updates, visit www.i-84waterbury.com, www.facebook.com/i84waterbury or Twitter @i84waterbury.